Tiepolo's canvases return to Ca 'Dolfin with virtual reality – Venice

Giambattista Tiepolo, Mario Curio Dentato defeated by the army of Pirro, king of Epiro. Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

Venice – The University of Ca 'Foscari celebrates its 150th anniversary with an initiative of historical and artistic value. Ten impressive paintings by Giambattista Tiepolo, today divided between the Metropolitan Museum of New York, the Hermitage of St. Petersburg and the Kunsthistorisches Museum of Vienna, return to their original home through the technologies of the mixed reality: to welcome them, the Magna Silvio Hall Trentin of Ca 'Dolfin, the historic university building that between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries was the residence in the lagoon of the noble family of the Dolfin, commissioner of Tiepolo between Venice and Udine.

Through a special viewer visitors can admire the cycle of the Roman Stories in the former hall of honor of Daniel III John and Daniel IV Gerolamo Dolfin, brothers of the patriarch of Aquileia Dioniso. Thanks to Microsoft's HoloLens holographic computers, the eighteenth-century canvases will each appear in their own frame, while the animated hologram of the landlord will guide the public to discover the palace's past. But it does not end here: by interacting with a simple and immediate interface visitors will be able to deepen the history and iconography of each of the paintings, accessing a rich set of stories, images and reconstructions taken care of from a scientific and historical-artistic point of view. Department of Philosophy and Cultural Heritage of the University of Ca 'Foscari.

"One of our main objectives", said Professor Chiara Piva, head of the project, "was to make visible and tell the public the history of this environment, which is part of the history of our University, a history that is no longer perceptible today. The HoloLens technology is particularly interesting for us because it allows us to leave the real visible, superimposing holographic reconstructions; in this way we can recover in an immediate and unique way the relationship between the walls frescoed by Nicolò Bambini and the paintings by Tiepolo that once decorated the hall. We use digital to better understand the real ".
"The project – also explained the Rector Michele Bugliesi – is an interesting experiment from the scientific point of view and is a demonstration of the great potential of a field of study and research, that of the so-called 'digital humanities' that sees Ca' Foscari active as one of the most important centers in Italy and in Europe. In the year of the 150th anniversary of the foundation of our University, this initiative allows us to further enhance one of our most precious and prestigious locations. Thanks to the experience of mixed reality created with the technology of HoloLens, the room reappears in the eyes of visitors in its full splendor, full of new content and able to arouse the emotions of a real journey through time ".
The setting up of the virtual sheets at Ca 'Dolfin will be open from May 26th, by booking on www.unive.it/cafoscaritour or by writing to [email protected]